DIRECTOR-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali, Rtd has told the Senate that the activities of smugglers forced the organization to lift the ban on importation of rice through land borders.
Speaking before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Col Ali said that apart from reducing the revenue generation of the agency, the ban had also caused the death of a sizeable number of its personnel through desperate smugglers.
He stressed that the commodity was so common within the nation's land borders that the ban no longer made sense.
His words;
“We decided to lift the ban on rice importation through the land borders because we discovered that we have developed the capacity and then we have the wherewithal to collect duties at the borders and this products are coming through the borders.
“We then agreed that the restriction, which we were convinced was not a pro-government policy, but a restriction placed by us, so we say, let us lift the restrictions and collect money because we need money and these people need to bring their rice.
“If we don’t allow them, the alternative is that they will smuggle it and we don’t want it especially when we were losing our men daily while trying to stop them . That is what we want, we are all Nigerians.”
The Senate Committee led by Senator Adamu Aliero, APC, Kebbi Central, had invited Col Ali to explain the reasons behind his unilateral lifting of the ban which is believed to have been put in place by former President Goodluck Jonathan through a presidential directive.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment